During the Republican debate on foreign policy Saturday night in South Carolina, Rick Perry said that foreign aid should be zero budgeted, and nations be evaluated as to whether they should gain foreign aid from the United States.
Newt Gingrich seconded what Perry said, and both talked very toughly. And then Rick Perry was caught in a bind when asked if Israel was part of that strict attitude, with him saying that they were a special case.
Then, of all people, Rick Santorum actually said something intelligent for once, that foreign aid was based on American interests, and that to cut off aid would undermine American foreign policy, using the example of Pakistan specifically as his view that we as a nation need to be engaged with that country, and that Pakistan needed to be a friend, to help counterbalance radical Muslims who have influence in that country.
Santorum was absolutely right, and he pointed out today on MSNBC that foreign aid is only about one half of one percent of our national budget, and that we do not give foreign aid to be nice, but rather for our strategic interests, and that it would hurt us if we abandoned foreign aid, much of which is spent in the United States for military hardware by other nations.
So the great myth about foreign aid was again exposed, but this time by a candidate who generally comes across as not very reputable in anything he believes or says–Rick Santorum.
The average American thinks foreign aid is 10-20 percent of our budget, another indication of how ignorant and lacking in knowledge and insights our citizenry is, and how easily manipulated they can be by candidates such as Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich, who should be ashamed of themselves!
So what percentage of our budget is goes to foreign aid? It is my understanding that Israel gets more than half (including military aid) of all aid given to 3rd world countries. I also am under the assumption that for every dollar we give out in aid (with the exception of Israel, corporate interest get back about $1.25.
Foreign aid is less than one percent of the budget, and Israel gets the most, but not a majority, with Egypt and Pakistan close behind in aid, at least up to recently.